The rains came

[burdick]

The dust from the road invaded the house
and choked the thirsty trees with gray powder.
The garden waited limply for water
and the air hung heavy without promise.

At last the western sky grew dark
and the thunder drums advanced.
A male rain lashed the trees in wild dancing
and the streams into muddy rivers.
After the rain, cool wet relief covered
a still dry and thirsty subsoil.
The drought and the rain both left nothing lasting;
the leaves and trees were unimpressed by both.

The next morning came grey, wet and misty,
A gentle female rain laid tiny droplets on every leaf and twig.
Silence
Then a tearing crash of first one limb, and then another!

The earth drank deeply and long
and a stark memory littered the ground.

[heinzs]

Good to see that you're alive and kicking!